Edmund Hillary was the beekeeper from Auckland who, with Tenzing Norgay, made the first confirmed ascent of Everest on May 29, 1953. He went on to drive a tractor to the bottom of the world, to fly to the Arctic with Neil Armstrong, and to spend almost half a century building schools and clinics in the Khumbu. His name is one of the most famous in the history of exploration. This Edmund Hillary biography covers his early years, the 1953 expedition, his Antarctic journey, the Himalayan Trust, his honors, and what anyone who loves the mountains can still learn from him.
Sir Edmund Hillary at a glance
- Full name: Sir Edmund Percival Hillary.
- Born: July 20, 1919, in Auckland, New Zealand.
- Died: January 11, 2008, in Auckland, at the age of 88.
- Known for: the first ascent of Everest, on May 29, 1953.
- Polar journeys: the South Pole on January 4, 1958, and the Arctic in 1985.
- Humanitarian work: founder of the Himalayan Trust in 1960.
- Honors: knighted in 1953, Order of New Zealand in 1987, Order of the Garter in 1995.
Early years in Auckland
Edmund Percival Hillary was born in Auckland on July 20, 1919, to Percival Augustus Hillary and Gertrude Hillary. The family moved to Tuakau, outside the city, where he attended Tuakau Primary School before going on to Auckland Grammar School. He was small for his age and very shy, and he took refuge in books. At 16, a class trip to Mount Ruapehu in the central North Island gave him his first taste of snow, and the mountain stayed with him for life.
After his studies, he joined his father Percival and his brother Rex in the family honey business. They kept about 1,600 hives, and beekeeping, with its seasonal rhythm, left the winter free for the hills. His father also edited a beekeeping journal, and his mother bred and sold queen bees. Later he liked to say that he was just an ordinary beekeeper who happened to climb a big mountain.
Service in the Royal New Zealand Air Force
During the Second World War, he served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force from 1943 to 1945. He trained as a navigator and flew in Catalina flying boats with No. 6 and No. 5 Squadrons in the Pacific. In 1945 he was badly burned in a boating accident, and he went home to recover before returning to the peaks.
Learning the craft in the Southern Alps
Sir Ed learned his skills in the Southern Alps. In 1939 he climbed Mount Ollivier, near Aoraki Mount Cook, his first real summit. After the war, he climbed with the guide Harry Ayres, one of the best ice men of his generation, and in January 1948 he was part of the small group that made the first ascent of the south ridge of Aoraki, the highest peak in the country. Those seasons on steep ice, long glaciers, and unstable weather were ideal preparation for the Himalaya.
The lessons he learned there still apply to anyone who wants to try a big objective: move efficiently on snow and ice, build endurance on long days, and stay calm when the weather turns. If you want to follow that path, our alpine gear checklist, our ice equipment guide, and our glossary of terms are good places to start.
The road to Everest
In 1951, Hillary joined a small expedition to the Garhwal Himalaya in India, and then accepted an invitation from Eric Shipton to join the reconnaissance of the southern side of Everest. That trip found a possible line up the Khumbu Icefall into the Western Cwm. In 1952, he returned with Shipton to attempt Cho Oyu, a nearby 8,000 meter peak, and although they fell short, the trip proved his strength at altitude.
Nepal had only recently opened its borders to foreigners, and the approach through the Khumbu region was new to Western mountaineers. Earlier expeditions in the 1920s and 1930s had tried the peak from Tibet, on the north side, and their story is one of the great chapters of mountaineering history. To understand how those early attempts shaped what came next, read our profile of Jon Krakauer and his Everest books.
The 1953 Everest expedition
John Hunt and the plan
The 1953 British Mount Everest expedition was organized by the Joint Himalayan Committee and led by Colonel John Hunt, an army officer chosen for his organizing skills. The group included George Lowe, a close friend of Hillary from Hawke's Bay, along with Tom Bourdillon, Charles Evans, Wilfrid Noyce, and Michael Westmacott. Tenzing Norgay, the most experienced Sherpa mountaineer of his generation, was the sirdar in charge of the porters and also a full member of the climbing team. The leader planned the effort like a military operation, with a long chain of camps, carefully planned loads, and two summit attempts.
The march in and the Khumbu Icefall
In March 1953, the expedition left Kathmandu for the long march to the mountain. The march took more than two weeks on foot, with hundreds of porters carrying loads through the hills, and it ended at Tengboche monastery, where the group acclimatized before moving up to base camp. From there they forced a way through the Khumbu Icefall, a maze of moving ice towers and crevasses, then climbed the Western Cwm and the Lhotse Face to reach the South Col at about 7,890 meters (25,900 feet). Hillary was among those who pushed the original line through the icefall, cutting steps, fixing ropes, and bridging crevasses. Today's guided parties still follow much of the original 1953 route.
Hillary and Tenzing on top of the world
On May 26, Bourdillon and Evans made the first summit attempt and came within about 100 meters of the top, but they turned back when the oxygen system Evans was using failed. Evans and Bourdillon had proved the route, and the second pair moved up. On May 28, supported by Lowe, Alfred Gregory, and Ang Nyima, Hillary and his partner pitched a small tent at about 8,500 meters (27,900 feet) on the southeast ridge.
The next morning, the two men set off along the ridge. The final obstacle was a 12 meter (40 foot) rock step, which Hillary climbed by wedging himself into a crack between the rock and a cornice of snow. It is known today as the Hillary Step, although reports in 2017 suggested the original feature had changed after the 2015 earthquake. At 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay stood on the summit of Everest, at 8,849 meters (29,032 feet) by the modern survey.
They spent about 15 minutes there. Sir Ed took the famous photo of his partner holding an ice axe with flags, while his partner left chocolates as an offering and Hillary left a small cross that John Hunt had given him. On the way down, Hillary greeted George Lowe with famously blunt words, telling him that they had knocked the mountain off.
Who stepped on top first?
For years, both men refused to say who reached the highest point first, insisting they had done it together. In his 1955 autobiography, Tenzing wrote that Hillary took the first step and that he followed. Both always stressed that the success belonged to the whole expedition, from the porters to the climbers who carried loads to the high camps.
News reaches London
News of the success reached London on June 2, 1953, the day of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and the press called it a coronation gift. The Times held the press rights to the expedition, and its correspondent James Morris sent the news in a coded message. The world press covered the story for months, and press photographers waited for the climbers on their return. Hillary was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire on June 6, 1953, and became Sir Edmund. Hunt was knighted as well, and the sirdar received the George Medal. Hillary himself also received the Coronation Medal. For a comparison with the other great Himalayan prize, read our guide to K2, the second highest peak on Earth.
On September 3, 1953, a few months after his return, Hillary married Louise Mary Rose. Their son Peter was born in 1954, followed by two daughters, Sarah and Belinda.
The Commonwealth Trans Antarctic Expedition
After Everest, Sir Ed turned to Antarctica. From 1955 to 1958 he led the New Zealand party of the Commonwealth Trans Antarctic Expedition, whose overall leader was the British geologist Vivian Fuchs, with a British group making the crossing. The goal was the first overland crossing of the continent. Hillary's team built Scott Base on Ross Island, established on January 20, 1957, and its job was to lay supply depots from the Ross Sea for the crossing party coming from the Weddell Sea.
He went further than planned. Driving modified farm tractors across the ice, his small group pushed on beyond the last depot and reached the South Pole on January 4, 1958. It was the first time anyone had managed to reach the pole overland since Roald Amundsen in 1911 and Robert Falcon Scott in 1912, and the first time anyone had done it with motor vehicles. Fuchs arrived later that month and completed the crossing using the depots Hillary had laid. It was one of the great adventures of polar history, and Hillary received the Polar Medal for it.
The Himalayan Trust
Hillary returned to the Himalaya many times, on climbing and scientific expeditions. On the 1960 to 1961 Silver Hut expedition, he studied the effects of altitude on the human body and investigated reports of the yeti, concluding that the evidence did not support it. During those trips he also asked the Sherpa people what they needed most, and the people of Khumjung answered without hesitation: a school.
In 1960 he founded the Himalayan Trust, and in 1961 the first school opened in Khumjung, built from prefabricated aluminium sections. In 1964 the trust built an airstrip at Lukla to bring in building materials, and that airstrip is now the main gateway to the Everest region. In 1966 it opened the Kunde Hospital. Over about 30 years, the trust built 26 schools, two hospitals, and many clinics, and it also helped restore monasteries and replant forests. For Hillary, this was the most important work of his life, and the Khumjung school, the trust's original project, still teaches children today. It was a turning point in the history of the Khumbu.
In 1975, his wife Louise and their daughter Belinda died in a plane crash near Kathmandu while traveling to join him. The loss devastated him. Nepal later granted him honorary citizenship, in 2003.
Later adventures and public life
Sir Ed never stopped exploring. In 1977 he led the Ocean to Sky expedition, a jet boat journey up the Ganges River from its mouth toward its source in the Himalaya. In 1985 he flew to the Arctic with Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, and became the first person to stand at both poles and on the summit of Everest.
From 1985 to 1989 he served as New Zealand High Commissioner to India, and at the same time as High Commissioner to Bangladesh and ambassador to Nepal. He wrote several books, including High Adventure in 1955, his own account of the climb, and his autobiography View from the Summit. In 1989, he married June Mulgrew, a longtime friend.
His son Peter Hillary followed him into the mountains. Peter climbed Everest on two expeditions, in 1990 and again in 2002 for the 50th anniversary of the first ascent. Peter later became a well known mountaineer and author in his own right.
Honors and legacy
Few explorers have been honored like Sir Edmund Hillary, and Sir Edmund wore those honors lightly. He was appointed to the Order of New Zealand on February 6, 1987, and became a Knight of the Order of the Garter, the oldest order of chivalry in Britain, on April 22, 1995. Since 1992 his portrait has appeared on the New Zealand five dollar note, a rare honor for a living person.
Hillary died of heart failure at Auckland City Hospital on January 11, 2008, at the age of 88. His country gave him a state funeral in Auckland on January 22, 2008. Today, Sir Edmund is remembered as much for his modesty and his work for the Sherpa community as for Everest. His story shows that a great climb can be the beginning of a life of service, not the end of a career, and it remains one of the best known stories in the history of exploration and of mountaineering.
What climbers can learn from Edmund Hillary
Hillary was not the most technical mountaineer of his time, but he was strong, persistent, and practical. Several of his habits still make sense today:
- Build a deep base of endurance. Long days on glaciers prepared him for the Himalaya. Our uphill workout plan and our endurance training methods explain how to build it.
- Train your grip for long days. Holding an ice axe, ropes, and cold rock for hours demands strong fingers and forearms. A few short fingerboard sessions each week help, and our safe hangboard progressions show how to start.
- Learn the basics well. He spent a decade on ice and rock before the big peaks. Start with our introduction to rock as a sport, our beginner guide to trad, and the figure eight tie in.
- Fuel the effort. Food on a long trip is part of performance, so read our nutrition guide for performance and recovery.
- Choose objectives step by step. Before Everest came Aoraki Mount Cook and Cho Oyu. Today, many alpinists progress through peaks like Aconcagua in the Andes and the Matterhorn in the Alps before going higher.
Every big adventure starts with small steps, and every adventure needs patience. Hillary's own path, from Ruapehu to the Southern Alps and on to the Himalaya, is the best example.
Conclusion
Sir Edmund Hillary went from a beekeeping family in Auckland to the summit of Everest and to both ends of the Earth, yet he always called himself an ordinary person. With his partner, he opened the age of Himalayan climbing in 1953, and through the Himalayan Trust he gave the Sherpa villages schools, hospitals, and an airstrip that changed the Khumbu forever. His legacy is not only the first climb of Everest, but the idea that mountaineers owe something to the mountains and the people who live below them.
FAQ
When did Edmund Hillary climb Mount Everest?
Edmund Hillary and his partner reached the summit at 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953, as members of the expedition led by John Hunt.
Who was Tenzing Norgay?
Tenzing Norgay was a Sherpa mountaineer and the sirdar of the 1953 expedition. He shared the historic climb with Hillary, and the two men remained friends for life.
Did Edmund Hillary go to the South Pole?
Yes. Leading the New Zealand party of the Commonwealth Trans Antarctic Expedition, he got there by tractor on January 4, 1958.
What is the Himalayan Trust?
The Himalayan Trust is the charity Hillary founded in 1960 to support the Sherpa community. It built schools, hospitals, and the Lukla airstrip, and it still works in the Khumbu today.
When did Edmund Hillary die?
Sir Edmund Hillary died in Auckland on January 11, 2008, at the age of 88, and received a state funeral.
Hillary's climbs demanded hours on ice axes, ropes, and cold rock. Build lasting finger strength on an ergonomic edge.
From €65
Shop the board →